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Colorado is in the grips of its nearly annual summer wildfires. The fast-moving fires are fed by dry conditions and high winds, and have resulted in desperate attempts on the part of some residents to save their homes and livelihoods.

How do you follow up such revered and successful ads as Chrysler's last two Super Bowl commercials? Imported from Detroit and Halftime in America should be given credit for giving the automaker's public perception a complete overhaul after its rescue from the brink with taxpayer money. What next, then?

Ten governors and a coalition of farm groups were upset on Friday to see the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) deny requests that corn production requirements be waived. While corn farmers were likely glad to see the ruling, farmers in the poultry, hog and cattle industries were not. They're seeing big increases in corn-based feed costs in this drought-heavy year as corn is diverted for ethanol used in vehicle fuel. The EPA says that the Renewable Fuel Standard must be enforced and condition

The Canadian Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry announced a $638,599 subsidy to build a new biodiesel plant in Alberta that will cost 8 million dollars (Canadian). This aid more than doubles the 275,000 dollars Canadian farmers were already investing in the plant. This subsidy is set in the Federal Investment Initiative for Eco-agricultural in biofuels (IIEB).

The Midwest is the new Middle East. We have talked about farming before and even mentioned how the farm bill helped ethanol to the tune of billions. In 2008, sugar farmers become players in ethanol. Here is the long, complicated story. First, sugar as an ethanol feedstock in America. You might have heard countries like Brazil use it but it does not make economic sense here. The price comes to about 2.15 compared with 1.50 for corn.

In a recent press release, Travelers Insurance company announced that New Jersey is the latest state to receive their 10 percent discount for customers who own a hybrid vehicle. Now at 39 states, Travelers is also offering a central website for those who are considering a hybrid to learn about information such as tax benefits as well as obtaining policy data and insurance quotes.

As Autoblog Green has previously reported, U.S. tariffs on sugar has effectively barred Brazil and other nations with their less expensive and more efficient sugar-based ethanol from competing in the U.S., giving American corn and soy growers the lion's share of the market. But according to the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, the rising demand for corn in the U.S. may prove ultimately beneficial to Mexico, Central, and South American nations in the long run. The increased demand for corn to crea

Sibling blog Blogging Ohio provided no less than three news pieces on our favorite topic, biodiesel. The first covers the ASAlliance Biofuels company as it continues its progress to build a $120 million ethanol plant in Bloomingburg. After a permit hearing later this month, construction of the new plant should begin shortly which will take a 12 to 18 months to complete.

Farmers in the American Midwest have a responsibility to grow produce. For years they've been turning out millions of pounds of corn and soybeans and wheat. Today, of course, they also play a key role in the production of much of the ethanol produced in this country. And, as this article in Motor Trend points out, they're users and producers of ethanol, and have been for years.

Next year, twenty percent of the corn grown in the United States will be turned into ethanol, according to this article from Reuters. The increase in ethanol production (ethanol will take 2.15 billion bushels of this year's corn crop as opposed to 1.6 billion bushels from last year) will also drive up price. The expected price of $3 a bushel will mean the highest season-average price in a decade, compounded by a reduction of the corn surplus in half by mid-2007. The 2.15 billion bushels of corn